Digimon Endgame
by Not Even Death Shall Stop Me
Summary: When the digital world is shown to be real, three boys stand as the thin line between life and death.
1. Chosen

**Digimon: Endgame**

"_**Ragnarok; the last battle. The gods will fall and humanity will become extinct. At Ragnarok, the World Tree will shake but will not fall. After the battle, Ygdrasil will produce humans to repopulate the world."**_

_**They thought they had destroyed me, but I am life itself. The humans have ruined their world and are doing the same to this one. In order to save them, I may have to destroy them all…**_

*******

"**Guys, I got the game!" "Nice one, Niall…" Fourteen-year-old Niall flashed a trademark grin to his less-than-enthusiastic friends gathered around his kitchen table. His dark brown, almost black hair stuck out from his scalp as though statically charged. "Guys, this game is freaking epic. I've only played five minutes, but it's insanely good." Eoghan, Niall's childhood and lifelong friend, regarded him sceptically with his piercing green eyes. "Seriously? I hope you're not just buying into all the hype."**

**Darren, the concluding member of the trio, snorted derisively. "Knowing Niall, he just picked it up for the hell of it. Seriously, has he ever followed the crowd?" The three boys cast their minds back as far as they could, none of them able to recall ay instances in which Niall had done anything that could be considered normal. Niall tore his mind's eye away from fond memories of breaking things and redirected his attention to the laptop in a bag slung over his shoulder.**

"**Here, take a look at these graphics!" he smirked, clicking rapidly. Darren pointed to a small folder icon in the bottom left corner. "What's that?" Niall gave a weak grin. "They're digimon designs." Darren opened the file and browsed rapidly. "These are surprisingly good." "Is that a compliment or an insult?" Niall snapped the laptop away and tried to close the file. "What the- What did you do? It's frozen!"**

**Niall groaned as he frantically typed long streams of code into the computer. "Oh, come on! Unidentified error sequence? What the hell?" The screen began rapidly flickering before enveloping them in a bright light. Niall fell back off of his chair and landed painfully on the floor. "Oh, Christ, that's gonna leave a mark." He scrambled to his feet and gazed at the message appearing on the screen.**

"**To whom it may concern;**

**The digital world is in grave danger. With the exception of hacks, the entire world is under the control of an unimaginably powerful being. Our last hope is to find humans with the potential to defeat him. You have been chosen. Please, save us.**

**V-mon X"**

"**What the hell? Is this part of the game?" enquired Eoghan. Niall's eyes grew wide as the message degraded into a series of zeroes and ones. "This is unprocessed data. The filter should be keeping these out, but-" Niall's speech was cut short by a series of sparks issuing from the computer. The sparks formed regular shapes and shaped themselves into the forms of small electronic devices, roughly one and a half times the size of Niall's fist. One was green, one crimson and one golden-coloured.**

**Darren reached for the red device. "What are these?" he wondered aloud. As he touched it, a beam of light shot from the end of the device to the laptop screen. The file he had mentioned earlier opened and Niall stared incredulously as streams of data flew from the computer into the device. Seconds later, the other two devices did the same.**

**Another message appeared onscreen, but this was clearly not from the same pleading source. **

"_**You who would dare to anger a god, cease this foolishness! You cannot possibly hope to win, I rule this world! These insignificant hacked digimon are nothing more than an annoyance. What could you possibly hope to achieve?"**_

This message was followed by another in the style of the first.

"This is our last chance! Enter the digital world! Or else the unthinkable shall befall both worlds! We n d y u he p-----------------------------------------------------"

The light grew brighter, blinding the boys. To his left, Niall saw Eoghan slump to the floor. Darren did the same to his right. Niall felt unimaginable pressure envelop his body. As his vision grew dark, Niall saw the last message on the screen.

"Welcome to the digital world."

(Credit for V-mon X goes to onlinewarrior094. R&R.)


	2. Rebels

**(Don't own digimon, won't until 2026. V-mon X belongs to onlinewarrior094.)**

**Rebels**

Niall woke to see flowers. The sight comforted him before his mind began niggling him to remember something. Something important. "Uuunnnhh…" he groaned. Sleeping at the table was not a good… THE TABLE! He scrambled to his feet and looked around. He was standing in the middle of a meadow with a forest to what he assumed was the east.

"Ah, you're awake." came a voice from behind him. Niall turned and gaped at the newcomer. It was a V-mon, but with several differences. It had golden gauntlets that ran back to its elbows, and a similarly-coloured helmet. Its tail was longer and less ridged, and it had legs similar to a goats, but scaled rather than covered with hair. It was also clearly injured. Blood was seeping from a cut on its stomach.

"No need to worry. I'll be fine." the digimon smiled as he saw Niall's eyes drifting to the wound. "Y-you're a V-mon." Niall babbled. The digimon looked offended. "V-mon X. I'm a V-mon X." "Sorry." replied the teen, whose head was beginning to swim again. He fell to his knees and retched violently.

"Not to worry, the transition from atomic to digital matter usually takes some getting used to." Niall clutched his head. "Oh God…" V-mon X grimaced and likewise fell to one knee. "It is about time I told you why you have come. Follow me." Niall struggled to his feet and set off after the limping digimon.

"This is the fifth continent of the digital world, the Continent of Processor. All the digimon here are mindless drones working for someone. I don't know who, but they're very powerful." Niall cast his memory back to the second message his laptop had received. "Let me guess, this someone thinks he's a god." "Yes. He has control of all the digimon, except for those who were hacked into the system, like me."

"Hacked into the system? I don't follow, and where're Eoghan and Darren?" Niall growled, angry at being unceremoniously dragged into a world he knew next to nothing about. "Your friends were separated from you during your travel to this world. They will be okay, but we need you to start helping us now." Niall snarled, fiercely devoted to his friends. "Yeah, and who's we?" V-mon X smiled as they approached a temple-like structure. "Time for you to find out."

They walked into what was unmistakably a throne room. A humanoid digimon sat on an ornately designed throne. A second reptilian digimon stood beside it. V-mon X walked up to the throne and bowed low. "My lord, one of the chosen humans." The seated digimon turned to Niall. "Greetings. I am BrokenAngemon. This is RebelGreymon, and you have met V-mon X." The speaker resembled an Angemon, but it wore black robes rather than blue and its right arm was skeletal. It also had four silver wings rather than six white ones. The reptile - or more specifically, dinosaur, digimon looked like WarGreymon, but without any armour and dressed in a viridian toga.

"I am sure you have many questions, but first we must-" BrokenAngemon's words were cut short by an explosion as the roof caved inwards. Dozens of Guardromon burst in, followed by a HiAndromon wearing some kind of tunic with an intricate design on it.

"You there!" droned HiAndromon to one of the Guardromon. "Inform our master that we have discovered the hacked digimons' base of operations." The machine digimon saluted awkwardly and flew off using hidden jets. RebelGreymon stepped in front of BrokenAngemon. "Get the human to a safe place, my lord. Hurry!" he growled as he gathered energy into his palms. "Khione Force!" he roared, unleashing a blast of ice that shattered several Guardromon. He drew back again and unleashed a similar attack. "Hephaestus Force!" The ball of fire melted many of the remaining soldiers.

BrokenAngemon held his palm to a pillar of rock in the corner of the room. "Hand of Regret!" A violet beam of light shattered the stone to reveal a portal, which quickly began to shrink. He nodded to V-mon X, who grabbed Niall by the waist and jumped through the portal. The last thing Niall heard was HiAndromon shouting "Atomic Ray!", followed by BrokenAngemon's shouts of pain, before that increasingly familiar feeling washed over him and the world went dark.

(I'm only putting up profiles for my own original digimon. You can check the rest by Google searching "DMA Digidex".)

BrokenAngemon/ Attribute: Data/ Level: Champion(Adult)/ Type: Fallen Angel/ Attacks: Holy Dark Wing, Judgement Staff/ Finisher: Hand of Regret

_A Fallen Angel type digimon, he was a Devimon who turned away from the darkness, but is not yet completely pure. He cannot accept total light or darkness and therefore took on this halfway form._

RebelGreymon/ Attribute: Vaccine/ Level: Mega(Ultimate)/ Type: Dragon Man/ Attacks: Neo Tornado, Slayer Fist, Wyvern Comet/ Finisher: Hephaestus Force, (or) Khione Force

_A subspecies of WarGreymon with the power to manipulate fire, and to a lesser extent, ice. He refuses to wear armour, believing it a show of weakness, but has extensive magical abilities. As a result of not wearing armor, his skin has become tougher than normal._


	3. New World

(Still don't own digimon.)

**A New World?**

Niall crashed to the ground, V-mon X beside him. Niall scrambled to his feet and looked around at the scenery around them. They had entered an icy wasteland, snow falling heavily all around them. He turned his attention to the bag slung over his shoulder. V-mon X turned to him. "What's wrong, human?" "My name is Niall, and I thought I emptied this before I came…" Niall opened the bag to find his laptop inside, along with a couple of items he didn't recognise, and the device that had emerged from the screen of his laptop.

"Ah, good, your D-Hacker is intact." Niall regarded him sceptically. "D-Hacker? Really? That's the best name you could come up with?" V-mon X' eyes twitched angrily. "Don't mock the D-Hacker! This device is the only thing that can save the digital world!" "Soooo…… what does it do?" Niall asked, tapping and flicking the screen. "Stop that!" V-mon X yelled, yanking the device away.

"The D-Hacker has several uses. It can scan, track, translate, and store data, but more importantly, it enables digivolution." Niall nodded, considering the possibilities. "Lot of good it does me without a partner." Before V-mon X could answer, a shockwave knocked them both to the ground. A massive chunk of ice had fallen only a few yards from them. "Hey, stranger!" called an unknown voice from above them. A human shape stood several meters up the cliff.

"A human avatar playing the game." growled V-mon X. "We don't need this, not now." The figure jumped down with ease, landing softly a few feet ahead in the snow. A Sukamon appeared at his side. "Man, I thought I had it bad stuck with you." Niall muttered to V-mon X. "Thanks(!)" the digimon retorted. The avatar gestured somewhat clumsily to his digimon partner. "Sukamon, attack!" A battlefield appeared, separating the digimon and humans from the blizzard.

On an impulse, Niall pointed the D-Hacker at Sukamon and pressed one of the many buttons. A holographic 3-D display flashed up. "Sukamon: the Excrement Monster.// Adult level// Mutant type// Base power: estimated 750." Niall did the same to V-mon X, not yet fully understanding the "Base power". "Whatever." he mumbled. "V-mon X: the Victorious Monster X.// Child level// Small Dragon type// Base power: estimated 1000."

"Listen, I don't want to fight-" "Sukamon, attack! Use this!" called the avatar, throwing a knife to the digimon. Sukamon lunged angrily. V-mon X glanced back at Niall. "Looks like we've got a fight on our hands! What do I do?" "Why are you asking me?" "You're my partner." V-mon X muttered through gritted teeth, nodding vigorously towards the stranger. "What- oh, oh yeah, I guess I am…"

"Hey, are you gonna fight or just stand there talking all day? Sukamon, Bomber!" Sukamon launched a massive pile of crap at V-mon X, which exploded on impact. "Oh, man, that's just gross… Vee Punch!" The punch knocked Sukamon several feet away, an odd dent in his face. "Uh… V-mon, Gyral Punch!" V-mon X' rapidly spinning fists slammed down onto Sukamon's head, transforming his body into a shapeless mass of dents. "You can't beat Sukamon in a physical fight, moron. He's got no skin and no skeleton, you can't break him that easily."

A roar from above distracted them both. Niall glanced back at the cliff. An oversized Mojyamon stood atop the cliff. The player began to fade away as a stream of data. "I'll leave this one to you and your partner." he said blankly as he and Sukamon disappeared. Niall glanced at the Digimon atop the cliff as it slammed down in front of them. "Ice Cloud!" A beam of green light shot from the D-Hacker as a cloud of snow crystals engulfed Niall and V-mon X…

***

_I fall through the tear in space-time and land roughly on the sandy ground. My memory is a blank, I can only recall that I came here to save someone or something. A digimon stands in front of me, and although I cannot recall having seen it before, I recognise it as a Tankmon. He points those turrets he has for arms at me._

"_Machinegun Arm!" he bellows, launching a volley of bullets at me. I instinctively raise my arms for protection, but the bullets bounce harmlessly off of me. A flash of memory comes back to me and I hold my palms out ahead of me. "Continuum Blitz!" Streams of red and blue sparks engulf Tankmon and he dissipates into a stream of atoms. Random sequences of my memories return as I speak for the first time in this new world. "I am Endumon."_


	4. Ice Over Ice

(This is where the story really begins. Reviews are welcome.)

**Ice over Ice**

The green light grew until it encompassed the three of them; Niall, V-mon X and Mojyamon. As it faded, Niall glanced at the dazed enemy. "What the hell?" As the world came once again into focus, the emerald lights condensed into the form of an egg, encased in the frozen clutches of Mojyamon's icy technique.

V-mon X stood up and flexed his arms. The wound on his stomach had disappeared entirely. His eyes narrowed and he dashed forward, slamming his helm into the enemy with an ecstatic cry of "V-mon Head!"

The force of the impact shot Mojyamon back several feet. Niall was only dimly aware of the ensuing spar between the two digimon, focused instead on the faintly glowing egg in front of him. He could never explain it, but he somehow, instinctively, knew that within this frozen egg was his partner, the one being with whom he had a connection transcending logic itself. The ice faded as a crack suddenly and inexplicably appeared in the egg. Niall reached out, in awe of the being coming into existence before him.

And yelped as it sank its teeth into his hand. Niall raised a sceptical eyebrow as he caught a view of his partner. Yes, he hadn't been sure of what to expect, but he had thought his uber-awesome digimon partner would at least have legs. Upon his lap sat a small, pale blue diamond with a face. And a single horn. And very underdeveloped arms with stubby claws. And it had its ice-cold fangs buried in his knuckles.

"Hmmph mph," it mumbled without releasing its jaws. Niall pulled it off with some difficulty. It wasn't much bigger than a football and its skin was as cool as the snow around them.

"Hey," it grinned, baring its fangs. "I'm Icymon. Got anything to eat?" Niall blinked stupidly. "That's a no, then? Pity…"

Niall glanced back at the sparring digimon. Mojyamon had pinned V-mon X into a corner and was firing punches at the Child level. Niall clenched his fists in anger and indignation. V-mon X had the X Antibody, but at the end of the day, there was still a level of difference between them, and the Adult level was, quite literally, in his element. Niall turned to the Baby digimon in his hands. "Stay. Here."

Icymon sneered. "I'm not a dog, human." but he hopped a few feet away from the enemy nonetheless. Niall pulled a rock from the ground and smashed it over the back of Mojyamon's oversized skull. The only effect this seemed to have was to anger the beast, who lashed out with surprising speed and grasped the teen by the throat. V-mon X leaped towards the beast, whose fist lashed out with blinding speed and knocked the smaller digimon into a steep cliff face, where he fell unconscious.

Niall roared at the beast and caught a glimpse of his face. One eye had been shredded by golden gauntlets and blood was streaming from his entire face. As Niall gasped for breath, he managed to spit in his opponent's one good eye, enraging Mojyamon into a frenzy. The digimon broke an icicle from the cliff and thrust it toward Niall's unprotected chest. Niall roared once more and a second burst of green light burst from the D-Hacker, enveloping Icymon in streams of data.

As the light faded, Icymon had been replaced by a new digimon. It had a similarly-shaped head, with two sharply bent horns on the back of its head. It had a narrow torso, spindly arms with clawed fingers on its hands. Its two thin legs ended in bird-like claws, three facing forward and one facing behind. Over the backs of its hands were black armbands, each with a lime green band of colour, the same shade as its eyes. "What the-" choked Niall as the newcomer jammed its knuckles into the snow.

"The name is Frostmon, and I'm about to save your life." the pale blue monster growled. He retracted his hands from the swirling snow, frozen blades erupting from his wrists. He ran and stabbed, the icy swords piercing the skin before shattering. Mojyamon staggered and pulled a bone, bent in the middle, seemingly from nowhere. "Bone Boomerang!" the beast grunted, smashing the bone into Frostmon's stomach with enough force to kill a human.

Niall grabbed his D-Hacker and pointed it at Frostmon, praying for a miracle. "You can do this, he's not so tough!" Niall focused all of his energy into the device. A spark, a flash and finally a stream of green light shot out of the device and was absorbed into Frostmon. The digimon's eyes opened as he rose into the air. His eyes were lit up in green as a cocoon of the same colour covered him entirely, expanding rapidly in the space of a few seconds, clearing to reveal an entirely new digimon.

The new evolution stood almost three stories tall. It was shaped like any of a variety of carnivorous dinosaurs, with a tooth-filled jaw as big as Mojyamon. It had two curved horns behind its eyes and two pointed forward on its snout. It had powerful clawed arms sealed inside dark metal bracers. Its legs had two powerful sets of joints at the knees and the ankles, with grey-blue claws on its feet. Two enormous spikes of the same colour protruded from its shoulders and its tail ended in a powerful steel-coloured hammer.

"I am PolarGreymon!" roared the dragon monster. his voice was a low growl, barely recognisable from his previous forms. It lashed out with a fist and smashed into Mojyamon's torn and scratched face, knocking the latter into a wall of sheer rock and ice, dropping Niall as he stumbled backwards. Niall clenched his fists in determination. He had designed PolarGreymon, knew all his strengths and weaknesses. The two locked eyes and nodded in synch. Niall flashed a sinister grin at the dragon. "Let's do this."

PolarGreymon let down a claw and the teen scrambled up to the digimon's shoulder. Mojyamon grabbed a second bone and prepared to throw, before being fiercely rammed by the dragon's horns. PolarGreymon growled as blue energy gathered in his jaws. Niall called out along with his partner as the latter unleashed a powerful blast. "Frost Nova!" The blast shattered the beast and the data collapsed into the shape of an egg, which then shot into the D-Hacker.

Niall jumped into the snow as PolarGreymon reverted to his Child form. The two of them dug a cold and somewhat disgruntled V-mon X out from under a pile of snow and told him of their epic confrontation. "So you've already reached Adult level?" he enquired, looking a bit too overly surprised for Niall's liking.

"Hell yeah! We kicked ass back there!" whooped Frostmon, high-fiving his human partner. Niall's expression grew suddenly serious. "Now to find my friends and fix this place. You two with me?" The two digimon nodded, eyes fiercely focused. A map shone out of the green device in Niall's hand. A golden dot was flashing at the edge of the hologram. A green dot pulsed in the centre, a small arrow pointing toward the golden one.

Niall flashed his familiar grin. "No time like the present." he laughed as he ran ahead. "Here we go!"

Icymon/ Attribute: ?/ Level: Baby(In-Training)/ Type: Lesser/ Attacks: Snowball, Ice Storm Force 0

_A small digimon made from hardened ice crystals. He can freeze moisture in the air to launch snowballs._

Frostmon/ Attribute: Vaccine/ Level: Child(Rookie)/ Type: Icy Snow/ Attacks: Hail Shot, Ice Knife, Ice Storm Force III/ Finisher: Chilling Smash

_A powerful Child level, his body is comprised entirely of ice which will only melt at extremely high temperatures. He can freeze the air around him to create blades and armour made of ice._

PolarGreymon/ Attribute: Data/ Level: Adult(Champion)/ Type: Ice Dragon/ Attacks: Hammer Smash, Ice Fang, Ice Storm Force VI, Hail Burst/ Finisher: Frost Nova

_Much more volatile than his previous level, PolarGreymon can unleash bursts of ice and frozen energy. When he finds an enemy, he will release the full power of his muscular limbs to pummel them into submission or annihilation._


	5. Rock On

**Live Fast, Die Hard and Rock On**

Eoghan had not been expecting to be sucked into a computer. Even by Niall's standards, it seemed a bit far-fetched. Then again, this was the guy who'd embedded three glass beakers in the ceiling of the English classroom. Still, it wasn't a bad place he'd ended up, he had to admit. He was sitting in the middle of a dark forest, flashes of sunlight seeping through the leaves.

"Hey, you!" called a strangely monotonous voice from somewhere to his left. Eoghan glanced around, eyebrows raised in curiosity. He was feeling surprisingly relaxed, considering the circumstances. Granted, once the adrenaline and shock wore off, he'd probably be reduced to a screaming wreck. A girl in some kind of pink uniform was standing at the other end of the clearing.

"Are you going to fight us or just sit around all day?" she asked, and Eoghan was surprised to see that her lips did not move in synch with her voice, and her eyes… they lacked a certain depth that one expected to see in the eyes of another. He climbed to his feet and stretched his arms.

"Who's we?" he asked, more out of boredom than a desire to fight.

The girl held out a small device. Eoghan resisted the urge to laugh. It was unmistakably a digivice, one from the "Digimon" anime. As he thought back, Niall had mentioned something about a new Digimon game for the laptop. Eoghan himself couldn't see the attraction. He preferred a game of soccer or hurling to staying glued to a computer screen. Nonetheless, he and Niall had been friends since they were little kids. He figured if Niall could struggle through endless soccer matches in school, he ought to show some interest in video games and the like.

"Greymon, let's do this!" A striped dinosaur burst from the device. Eoghan gaped open-mouthed before his brain engaged long enough to deliver a message, short and sweet. RUN! He turned and burst through the undergrowth, leaving a confused dinosaur and blank-faced human several dozen yards behind in a matter of seconds.

After several full minutes of sprinting flat out, Eoghan slowed down enough to look behind him and promptly fell head over heels over a tree trunk. He laughed hysterically, unable to believe he'd escaped from a real digimon. This was really not his day. At least now he was safe, he thought wryly as he stood up.

And found himself face to face with the brown helm of a Greymon. The girl ran up alongside a split-second later.

"Why'd you run? Surely to get here, you'd need to at least be able to reach Adult level, even if your digimon doesn't stay at that level." Eoghan felt himself doing a reasonable impression of a dying fish, gasping for air that didn't seem to be present. He backed up as far as he could, landing on his back on a steep slope.

"I don't have a digimon." he eventually stammered, scrambling up the slope till he reached roughly Greymon's shoulder level. He felt something moving on his belt and turned to see a phone-like device, steel grey with gold accents. He picked it up and as it began to glow faintly, he dropped it to the rocky ground. An incessant beeping rang out, sending the Greymon staggering in pain. Eoghan clasped his hands over his ears as a golden light dug a crater in the earth, dissipating the data and shaping it into the form of an egg.

The egg burst open to reveal a metallic green octagonal digimon with yellow eyes with slit pupils. "Hey." it grunted in a surprisingly deep voice. "Name's Igneomon. You gonna lay there all day?" Eoghan reached out a trembling hand, feeling extremely light-headed. A sudden shout interrupted his frantic thoughts.

"This is the Gotsumon territory! Humans are forbidden to approach the sacred mountain!"

Eoghan shut his eyes, determined not to look.

"_What I don't know can't hurt me."_ he thought, praying whatever it was that had spoken was friendly. A sudden punch to his spine shattered that illusion. He rolled toward the base of the mountain, Igneomon clutched in his arms. He turned despite the pain in his lower back to see three small rock-like digimon. Two had stooping humanoid shapes with large fists and heads. The third looked more like a sumo wrestler, standing taller than the others.

"Now, humans," hissed the sumo. "It is time for you to learn of the powers of digimon."

"Gotsumon, attack!" roared the sumo, a Gotsumon X. The other two digimon threw rapid punches at Eoghan, who jumped backwards with Igneomon clutched tightly in his arms. Gotsumon X chuckled darkly.

"Destroy the green traitor first. Then we'll finish off the big guy." he sneered as several more Gotsumon jumped out, launching boulders at Greymon. One of the first two knocked Igneomon out of Eoghan's grasp and kicked it down the slope at the base of the mountain. It stood over the helpless Baby digimon, fist clenched, drawing out its pleasure before the final blow.

Then it collapsed as Eoghan's fist collided with its face. Eoghan held that pose for a moment before lashing out at the other with a fierce kick to the abdomen.

"Pick on someone your own size." he hissed, barely loud enough for his opponents to hear. A gold flash erupted from Eoghan, enveloping Igneomon.

"Even though I don't know him, I won't let you hurt him!" Eoghan roared at the stone digimon.

When the light faded, Igneomon had changed drastically. His forehead horn had vanished, replaced by two spikes where his temples would be. His head or body, whatever, had become more rounded. More interesting was the addition of arms and legs and, bizarrely, a fishing rod attached to his back.

"Name's Cragmon. Let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to kicking the crud out of these guys." grinned the new digimon, jabbing his fists into the earth, which, bizarrely, caused brass knuckles to form over his hands.

"Bearing Knuckle!" he cried, launching glowing punches at the darker rock digimon. The duo made short work of the clumsy grey rock digimons. Gotsumon X leapt down, holding a small statue resembling some kind of red armour.

"Spirit Digivolution!" he called, the armour growing and enveloping him in a flash of fire.

"Agunimon!" he called, now a tall human-like digimon covered in the same red armour that had made up the statue, a smirk on what could be seen of his face as the fire dissipated.

"Pyro Darts!" he roared, launching a series of diminutive flames in quick succession, exploding as soon as they reached Cragmon and Greymon, who was struggling to hold off a group of about half a dozen Gotsumon.

Eoghan jumped aside as the flames came uncomfortably close, rolling forwards to land on one knee. He grabbed a sharp stone from the ground and launched it at Agunimon, the edge cutting a deep groove int the digimon's mask, distracting him long enough for Cragmon to jump forwards and unleash a powerful uppercut. Agunimon responded in kind with a fist covered in flames, batting the green digimon aside with minimal effort.

Eoghan jumped forwards, lashing out with a swift kick, knocking Agunimon off balance. "If you want to hurt Cragmon, you'll have to beat me first!" the teen yelled in anger as he pulled back to launch another assault, only the first punch making contact before Agunimon grabbed him by the throat, a miniscule mark where the punch had made contact.

"I think you've lived too long, human. You're just like all the others, totally oblivious to the fact that we are more alive than you! You come here, destroy our homes and kill our families, you treat your partners like slaves! What gives you the right to do that? Answer me!" roared Agunimon, his grip becoming uncomfortably tight and Eoghan was astonished to see tears in the digimon's eyes.

"I haven't." Eoghan choked. "I don't… know what you're… talking about." Out of the corner of his eye, Eoghan saw Cragmon scrambling towards him, despite being beset by two Gotsumon. "I just… met Cragmon today. I… got attacked twice… by you and that… crazy girl. I'll try… to fix… things here, make things better. But I need… to know… what happened."

Agunimon's expression was, for a moment, one of hesitation, before it contorted once more with rage. "Don't try to fool me! You're a threat to the digital world." That said, Agunimon drew his hand back and summoned a fireball to his open palm. "Time for you to feel our pain."

Time seemed to stand still. Cragmon was powering towards Agunimon, far too slowly to help. Eoghan clenched his fists as the flame drew closer. _"I can't die here. I've got to beat this guy. No "or else" about it. I. Won't. LOSE!"_

A golden light burst from Eoghan's grey device, engulfing Cragmon, forming a cocoon of light around him. A shockwave erupted from said device, throwing Agunimon backwards against the ground.

The light faded from Cragmon to reveal a entirely new digimon. Six feet tall, easily, with grey skin almost entirely covered by green armour, three horns protruding from a helmet of stone, powerful arms ending in three-fingered hands, a black gem embedded in his chest and a net strapped to his shoulder blades. He let loose a monstrous roar before announcing his new title. "Obsidimon!"

"Double Upper!" called the newcomer as he tossed aside the Gotsumon with two devastating punches. Agnimon pulled himself to his feet as Obsidimon pointed stone fists towards him. "Knuckle Cannon." hissed the green and grey warrior, firing twin energy blasts at the Warrior of Fire. The blasts propelled said Warrior of Fire backwards and out of sight.

Obsidimon turned and smirked at Eoghan. "He wasn't too tough." The two shared a smile before turning to the Gotsumon still attacking Greymon. Several calls of "Knuckle Cannon" made short work of the rock digimon, leaving only a short, orange, dinosaur-like digimon unconscious on the ground- an Agumon.

"Get up." ordered the girl, no emotion in her voice, just a hint of annoyance. Eoghan grabbed her by the collar. "Can't you see he's hurt? Why don't you help him instead of ordering him around like that!" he spat angrily, a freshly devolved Cragmon by his side.

The girl's face registered no reaction. "Relax, dude. It's just a game." she said before disappearing completely. Agumon struggled to stand, Cragmon rushing across to lend a hand.

"Thanks." gasped the reptile. "I don't know why I do what she wants. It's like she can control my whole body."

Eoghan reached into a pocket and produced a wadded bandage and proceeded to wrap Agumon's injured arms in the cloth. "Why did you help me anyway? All the other humans treat us like-"

"Slaves?" interjected Eoghan, not able to meet the digimon's eyes. "Well, yeah. You're the first one I've met who seems to understand that we feel pain when you force us to fight."

"Well, I know what it's like to be forced into things… and I know pain. Looks like you're all set to go wherever it is you have to go. See ya." Agumon said a quick thanks before running into the undergrowth and disappearing.

"Pyro Darts!" came a call from behind Eoghan. A barrage of flames blew Cragmon off of his feet. Agunimon appeared several yards away, a fireball in his hand, expanding rapidly. Eoghan braced himself to dodge, futile as it seemed. "Time to die, human."

"Not today!" came a familiar voice from behind Eoghan. An enormous sky blue dragon jumped overhead, Niall and a small digimon balanced on each of its shoulders. Niall glanced down at Eoghan, shaking his head. "Getting death threats is my thing. Don't try it without the proper paperwork."

The boys focused his attention on Agunimon. "PolarGreymon, Frost Nova!" In response to the order, the blue behemoth unleashed a stream of frozen energy, blasting Agunimon's armour to shards. When the smoke cleared, the unconscious form of Gotsumon X lay beside a small red statue. PolarGreymon stood over him, ready to deliver a final blow.

"No!" roared Eoghan. Niall turned to him, one eyebrow raised in question. "He's suffered enough." whispered Eoghan. Niall nodded at his friend, jumping down as PolarGreymon shrank down to the size of a child, becoming more humanoid as the reptilian digimon (with _goat legs_?) sidled up alongside Niall as the latter approached his friend.

"By the by the by, et cetera, this is V-mon X, a local, and this is Frostmon, my partner." smiled Niall, a slight waver before the last word. Eoghan pushed it to the back of his mind, attributing it to being dragged into another world.

"This is Cragmon, my… partner, I guess." replied Eoghan, gesturing to said digimon before a beeping from Niall's digivice caught their attention.

"Looks like Darren could use our help." smirked Niall, a holographic map over his digivice showing a red dot flashing periodically. "Could get rough."

This time it was Eoghan's turn to smirk. "That's _will_ get rough. Let's do it." V-mon X shook his head, pinching the skin where the bridge of his nose should have been. "I can't believe this. I've got to save the world with fucking morons." Nonetheless, he ran alongside \niall and Eoghan as they ran towards the setting sun.

_There we go, my longest chapter to date. Next chapter reveals more about the game world and how it works, as well as having ninjas vs. beasts. R&R._

**Digidex**

Igneomon/ Attribute: ?/ Level: Baby/ Type: Lesser/ Attacks: Horn Jab, Dust Shot

_A small, lightweight digimon with toughened skin. His Dust Shot technique can provide cover to escape enemies._

Cragmon/ Attribute: Data/ Level: Child/ Type: Rock/ Attacks: Fisher's Club, Sand Cannon/ Finisher: Bearing Knuckle

_Although he is a rock digimon, he is lightweight enough to float on water, eliminating a common weakness of his kind. His balance of speed and strength make him a useful ally in combat._

Obsidimon/ Attribute: Vaccine/ Level: Adult/ Type: Rock/ Attacks: Obsidian Shock, Double Upper, Net Formation/ Finisher: Knuckle Cannon

_Immensely powerful in terms of physical strength, Obsidimon can launch devastating punches with his armoured hands and muscular arms. His main weakness is his low agility and comparatively weak finisher technique._


	6. Dark Rising

**Dark Rising**

Darren woke to find himself tied by chains around his wrists to a thick tree trunk, the leaves overhead shading the clearing ahead of him. In the clearing stood what appeared to be a large yellow ape, sitting cross-legged on the ground, two smaller monkeys beside it.

"Well, this is new…" he mused, tugging at the chains that held him. The ape creature turned and bared its teeth in a sadistic smile, before opening its hand to reveal a black and crimson phone-like device. The two monkeys screeched incoherently, clearly excited about the device, whatever it was.

The ape stood to face Darren, flexing its muscles. "So, you are the human that's meant to stop us." It spoke in a cultured accent, which sounded slightly ridiculous considering the source. "To be honest, I can't see why everyone's so bothered about you. Look at you. Any Child level could take you on, no problem."

"Honestly, I couldn't care less if you lived or not, but orders are orders. We're to give all humans up to our Lord for the sake of the digital world." The ape declared, a look of disdain on his face. "That is the sole reason you still exist."

"So who is your "Lord", anyway? Some kind of all-powerful digimon?" enquired Darren, feeling incredibly stupid for actually using the word "digimon". It wasn't real, it was some stupid show for kids. Regardless, it never hurt to prepare for every conceivable possibility. Niall said he was just being paranoid.

The ape turned away and stared into the forest. "Our Lord is the guardian and protector of the entire Digital World. It is because of him that we have managed to survive the relentless hunts of humans who trespass into our world, using innocent digimon as slaves, turning them against their own kind. However, the tide of this battle is turning- our Lord has managed to turn humans to our cause. Soon, we will march on your world. We may find peace at last."

Darren only heard the first half of the monster's speech, having been focused on escaping his confines. Digital apes, he had discovered, did not use particularly effective means of holding prisoners. He'd easily managed to squeeze his hands through the chains and escape while the monster was distracted, hiding in the undergrowth. "_If nothing else, the villain's monologue is handy for a getaway" _he thought, smirking.

A loud beeping caught his attention. Despite himself, he glanced back the way he had come. The device the ape had held was hurtling through the air towards him, glowing red and firing sparks of electricity. As it came closer, he instinctively opened his hand. As soon as the device made contact with his skin, the glow grew blindingly bright for an instant, then faded. The shadows around him curled inwards, being drawn into the device, which erupted in a final flash of red light.

The glow vanished, leaving behind an egg, dark as night, with two red stripes around the base, which cracked open to reveal a small digimon, a formless blob of black with two red eyes. "This is… I don't even know what this is. What is going on?"

"How did you create a digimon?" roared the ape. "Mega Bone Stick!" Darren jumped away as a javelin of bone embedded itself in the ground at his feet. The creature in Darren's arms shook with fear. Darren paused to consider the situation, before grabbing the javelin and launching it at his opponent. The ape screeched as the bony spear was lodged in its thigh.

"Look, I don't know what's going on, but you better back off before I get really pissed." snarled Darren as darkness began to circle him and the small digimon behind him.

"I guess I'd better teach you a lesson." he hissed as the darkness enveloped the digimon behind him, forming a cocoon-like structure, which faded to reveal a figure the size of a child, concealed in red cloth. It had skin as dark as coal, with thin, almost skeletal limbs, and eyes of solid blue.

"I am Espimon," it whispered in a breathy, almost ethereal voice, blue eyes glowing beneath a scarlet hood. "Darkest Night!" it called, darkness curling around it and launching a solid mass at the ape, who shrugged it off with a grunt.

"Foolish child." hissed the ape. "You stand no chance against Apemon, guardian and protector of the Monmon clan. I will defend this forest with my life. And to that end, I must follow the commands of our lord and master. I will not fail the clan. Mega Bone Stick!"

Darren flinched as a second bone javelin flew towards him, opening his eyes to see Espimon standing in front of him, holding back the javelin with spindly arms, straining against some unseen force, the tip of the javelin inches from Darren's chest. Darren slid to one side, the spear embedding itself into the ground seconds later.

Darren stared as blood began to leak from Espimon's hands. "You saved me. Why?" he asked, surprised by his own genuine concern. He wasn't one to trust or care easily.

"I don't know, really." came the response. "I just couldn't let you die, could I? What do you think I am, a sadist?"

"Mega Bone Stick!" The pair jumped back to avoid a volley of javelins. Darren turned to Espimon, his eyes focused. "Let's make the introductions later, we've still got that guy to deal with. Let's take him down."

"Together?" replied Espimon, an expression of confusion on his face. "…together…" muttered Darren. The two moved in sync, ducking and diving to avoid projectiles before launching two punches into Apemon's sides, winding the larger digimon.

Apemon gasped as he fell to his knees. Darren stood beside him, fists clenched. "I didn't start this fight, so surrender, and I won't have to end it." he hissed.

With a demonic roar, Apemon tackled Darren to the ground and pressed a heavy foot on his stomach. "If killing you is what it takes to protect my home and my family, then kill you I shall." hissed Apemon, a determined look in his eyes. The pressure on Darren's stomach increased and his ribcage began to strain under the weight. He gasped as all the breath flew from his lungs and the world began to grow darker, particularly around Espimon as he ran towards them, his outline blurring and distorting…

With a flash of scarlet and a fierce cry, a large humanoid figure collided with Apemon, knocking him off of Darren and pulling the boy to his feet. "Who the hell are you?" panted Darren, his chest aching.

"I… am Arcanamon." hissed the figure. He stood six foot tall easily, a vermillion hooded cape blowing in the breeze behind him. His body was entirely encased in black, form-fitting armour, a mask of the same hue hiding his face, only his dark blue eyes showing through.

Arcanamon tapped a pair of matching symbols on his gauntlets, which began to pulse with red energy. "Arcane Pulse!" he called, a red shockwave sending Apemon careering backwards into a tree, blood staining his golden fur. Arcanamon held out his hands wide, shadows congealing in his palms and shaping themselves into swords, marked with runes and edged with a glistening blue metal.

"You threatened my partner. I cannot allow this to go unpunished." he hissed. Despite his voice being little more than a whisper, every syllable was as clear as day. He pointed his blades at Apemon.

"Iaido." he whispered. His blades took on a violet sheen as he swung them in wide arcs, each swipe tearing into Apemon's flesh. The beast digimon fell to the forest floor, Arcanamon's blades fading into darkness once more.

Darren stepped forward. Apemon's limbs began to fade, data streaming from his hands and feet. "…human…" he whispered. "…I am truly sorry… I only meant… to protect… my clan…"

Apemon coughed as his arms and legs disintegrated. "…please… help… them… They… need… to… be… pro… tect… ed…" Darren closed his eyes. Apemon screeched as the last of his data evaporated away.

Arcanamon was wrapped in a red cocoon of energy, re-emerging as Espimon seconds later. "Darren?" he whispered, reaching for the boy's hand. Darren flinched and shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go find the others."

"You called?" came a voice. Darren turned to see Niall and Eoghan emerging from the trees, digimon at their sides. Niall had his trademark grin spread across his face and a green device in his hands.

"Nice one. You got yourself a partner." laughed Niall. "Looks like the three of us are gonna save the world. I always wanted to be an anime hero." Niall pulled his hair straight up and took a pair of goggles out of his bag, snapping them onto his forehead. "Gotta look the part."

Darren shook his head. "Can't he take anything seriously?" Eoghan shrugged. "If he did, he'd get straight A's. Guy's a genius when he pays attention."

Niall raised his arm and pointed at the setting sun. "Let's get out of here before sunset and set up camp in the open." A blue reptilian digimon behind him nodded. "We can keep watch for anyone coming, get out of their way."

"Hell, no." retorted Niall. "Anyone messes with us, we'll kick their asses three times before they hit the ground." he smiled, dragging his two friends behind him. "Let's do it!"

Digidex;

DemiEspimon/ Attribute: ?/ Level: Baby/ Type: Lesser/ Attacks: Shadow Surprise

_A small but agile digimon, he prefers to hide from enemies than fight. His Shadow Surprise is often used to scare away enemies._

Espimon/ Attribute: Virus/ Level: Child/ Type: Demon/ Attacks: Darkest Night, Lasting Shade, Tangled Cloth/ Finisher: Darkness Lashing

_Stealthy and quiet, Espimon's red cape is unusually durable and can be used as both a shield and a weapon._

Arcanamon/ Attribute: Virus/ Level: Adult/ Type: Demon Warrior/ Attacks: Arcane Pulse, Arcane Barrier, Arcane Lash, Arcane Fist, Arcane Light, Arcane Sense/ Finisher: Iaido

_A stoic warrior with an unerring sense of duty, he will follow the orders of those he respects to the end. He has a wide variety of techniques to cover a wide variety of situations._

_So, another chapter up. The next will focus on Endumon and his role in the story. On another note, I am currently accepting requests for enemies in this story. Preferably canon digimon, though I will accept original digimon, provided a detailed description is given._

_As always, R&R._


	7. The Future is Now

**The Future is Now**

"_I am Endumon." I whisper, holding my hands out in front of my face. The air around me sets my sensors aflame, the wind whirling through my fingers. I turn my head to examine my surroundings. I see sheets of metal coating the ground. Smoke flickers through the air. In the distance, a squadron of machine digimon stand vigilant at the base of a cliff. A line of digimon, chained together, walk past them into the cliff edge._

_I begin walking towards the cliff, setting the fragments of memory I have into a basic timeline of my life. I am a member of the Royal Knights, Endumon, master of time. I fought alongside my fellow knights in the last battle against a being of pure evil… why can't I remember what it was? It was dangerous, terrifying, invincible…_

_I begin to levitate towards the cliff, picking up speed. A sudden flash of light erupts at the cliff, followed by a series of explosions. I clap my arms to my side and accelerate rapidly, pale blue energy encasing my body, leaving a streak of light across the dark sky. Sparks fly from my left side and I fall to the earth again. My flight function has been damaged, however, all other systems seem to be in full working order._

_I walk up to the nearest digimon, a Datamon, holding out my hands in a show of peace. "I do not wish to harm you. What is going on here?" The machine draws itself up to its full height, an impressive feat. _**"Commander HiAndromon has given us our orders from our Lord and Master. The machines will fulfil our duty to execute these traitors to the cause. They are a danger to our lasting peace. Surely, as a fellow machine, you can see the truth of our creed; All beings will follow God into the eternal light."**

"_Traitors?" I enquire. _**"They were found questioning the power and authority of our Lord. This is treason of the highest order."**_ hisses the diminutive perfect level. Its features are contorted in a sadistic smile. I can hear the malice in its voice._

"_By order of the Royal Knights, cease this barbarity." I declare, by arms by my sides. _**"Never! You are a traitor! Now you will die!" **_screams Datamon, its voice spurring a swarm of Mekanorimon and Guardromon into motion, launching beams and missiles towards me. I burst upwards, ducking and weaving through their attacks._

_A cry of "Light Leg!" draws my attention from them. I look up to see a Strabimon break free of its chains and launch a glowing kick into the visible core of a Mekanorimon. The latter falls on its back, arms splayed. A second voice cries out "Hyper Shot" as the rest of the prisoners flee the battle, only Strabimon remaining to fight. I turn to see the newcomer, a machine in the shape of a human. Its face is hidden by a dark visor, a gauntlet on its right hand with two large claws protruding from the knuckles._

_The newcomer launches streams of energy from four shoulder-mounted blasters with a shout of "Hyper Shot", darting ahead to slash at a pair of Guardromon, crying "Metal Slash" as he runs. I dive down, grabbing Strabimon and the newcomer in one movement. I drop them several metres away from the enemy and turn, collecting energy in my fist, releasing it while calling the name of my technique._

"_Big Bang Burst!" The energy takes on a golden sheen and I unleash it, vaporising the enemy, along with a large chunk of the cliff face. I jump forwards to the gaping hole in the rock, holding it open as a crowd of child level digimon scramble to safety. As soon as they free themselves, I drop it, the newcomer blasting the rocks to dust with that "Hyper Shot" technique._

_I offer my hand to the newcomer, who laughs and waves his gauntlet at me, offering his left instead. "Good to finally see another machine out here. Name's Raidermon. Pleased to meet you…" "Endumon, of the Royal Knights." The two of them freeze in panic. Strabimon starts shaking._

"_Just make it quick!" he yelps. "I've seen what some of your comrades can do when they meet us supposed traitors." I gaze at him for a moment. "What?" "Don't play dumb." hisses Raidermon, stepping between me and the child. "You so-called protectors of the peace have been executing innocent digimon and capturing humans for torture."_

"_**What?**__" I gasp, frozen in shock. "The Royal Knights… if what you say is true… I must go." "Why?" hisses the android. I turn and glare at him. "The Royal Knights are guardians, righteous, loyal and honest. They would not kill so indiscriminately… unless… unless they cannot control themselves. I need to find out what has happened."_

"_Then I'm coming with you." they say in tandem, looking to each other in surprise. "No." I insist, walking away as I speak. "If the knights have lost control of themselves, then they are too dangerous for you to face. Any of their members could easily destroy the both of you."_

"_I don't care." whispers Strabimon. "They captured my partner and turned her into a soldier. Right after she started to become a better partner… I have to stop that from happening to other digimon." Raidermon laughs heartily. "That's what I like to hear from a child level. Determination and Loyalty. You're all right, kid."_

"_Very well. I suppose it would be safer for you to accompany me rather than risk your lives going alone." I shake my head, before asking the question that I know will quash any respect they may have for me._

"_Which continent is this? Server, Folder, Monitor?" Strabimon's jaw drops. Raidermon just shrugs before responding, although his voice seem to be masking a fit of laughter. "Processor. It got restored a few decades ago after that business with Chaosmon finally got dealt with. How did you not know that?"_

"_I have come from the future," I whisper, barely holding back the rage in my voice. "The future wherein the entirety of the Digital World was destroyed by a threat even greater than that of Chaosmon. A being so vile and powerful that even its identity was shrouded in evil. All I know is that it managed to defeat Alphamon in combat and continue fighting against the Royal Knights, unharmed. And I have come back to make sure that it never becomes a threat. I have to find it and destroy it. I will almost certainly fail. If you still wish to follow me, I cannot guarantee your safety or even your survival."_

_The two digimon share a sceptical glance. Raidermon shakes his head a moment later. "Doesn't matter to me. I get attacked by nearly anyone I come across, besides the 'traitors' that your fellow Knights are only too eager to punish. I might as well go down saving the future." Strabimon nods his agreement._

_I gaze up at the moon before making my decision. "Then we go. We go to the Royal Knights."_

Digidex:

Endumon/ Attribute: Data/ Level: Super Ultimate/ Type: Phantom Cyborg/ Attacks: Continuum Blitz, Big Bang Burst, Death's Head Cannon, Pulsar Destroyer/ Finisher: Antimatter Sphere

_A member of the Royal Knights from a war torn future, he has the power to manipulate time and space._

Raidermon/ Attribute: Data/ Level: Perfect/ Type: Machine/ Attacks: Metal Slash, Hyper Shot/ Finisher: Destroyer Bombardment

_A mechanical mercenary, he can analyse combat situations in seconds and adjust his strategy accordingly._

(Okay, let me know how well the story is going; if there are no suggestions for cameos by next chapter, I'll start putting in my own.)


	8. A Hero through a Friend's Eyes

**A Hero Through a Friend's Eyes**

Eoghan woke with a start and gazed at the starry sky. So it hadn't been a dream. This Digital World was real. They were in real danger. Not that it bothered Niall, he reflected, glancing over at his snoring friend. They'd known each other for years, and he was still a mystery. Eoghan had been the outcast before Niall moved to their school, years before.

_He remembered the taunts, the digs at his stupidity, how he was only ever shown respect on the soccer field. Then out of nowhere, Niall burst into the scene. Becoming the school's resident child genius turned him into the outcast Eoghan had been. He'd said nothing, just happy that he was being accepted. He felt so guilty over leaving the seemingly shy, defenceless boy to be bullied, for letting someone else go through the same thing he had. He eventually broke down and apologised furiously to Niall, expecting anything from quiet hatred to a punch in the face._

_He had not expected the other boy to burst out laughing. He stood completely dumbstruck as the boy he thought of as the quiet, collected genius failed miserably to recover from a bout of pure hysterics. Niall pulled him aside to casually explain the situation._

"_No offence, but you're really an idiot if you're blaming yourself over this. I've been bullied before, I'll be bullied again. It happens. Some people are just jerks, and most of these guys here are actually pretty cool. They're all willing to stick up for each other, no matter what. And, if you ignore the real morons, this is a great school. I've got a few friends around here already. I'll introduce you."_

That was that. Niall never blamed him. They became friends soon after that, though it was years before Eoghan stopped blaming himself and started blaming the real culprits. Niall ignored the insults and the names for years. He never gave in to the abuse. Eoghan still remembered the defining moment of Niall's determination.

_It was the end of the Easter Break and the pupils were returning to school. Lunchtime, all the boys headed out to the pitch behind the school. Niall jogged onto the field a few minutes later, his friend Darren standing on the sidelines, looking as ridiculously dark and brooding as ever. Eoghan was up as first captain, Michael Earls, from the year ahead as second._

_Earls was a thug, plain and simple. Whereas everyone else had grown up and befriended Niall, who was extremely social by anyone's standards, Earls and his equally stupid group of followers took pleasure in making his life miserable. Books ripped, possessions stolen, they never let up. Eoghan got the same treatment, less so due to his athletic record, being on two school teams. Niall tried to laugh it off, but anyone could see how degrading it was._

_With teams chosen, Eoghan and Michael shook, the other trying to crush the hand he held in his grip. The match started immediately, the ball flying around their heads until it came to rest at Eoghan's feet. He sidestepped a member of the "Michael Earls Fan Club" and sprinted up field, knocking the ball between the discarded jackets used as goalposts._

_The match proceeded as normal from there, each side scoring goal after goal due to a lack of willing keepers. With the end of lunch imminent, Eoghan called an end to the game, ending in a draw. As he picked up the ball, he heard running before a hand pressed down on his shoulders and his head exploded with pain. He fell backwards, blood streaming from his nose as people gathered around to see what had happened. He forced an eye open to see Earls' knee spattered with blood as someone pushed through the crowd._

_Niall knelt beside him and handed him a pack of tissues before turning, rage in his eyes. As Earls made several barely coherent boasts to his comrades, Eoghan saw the smaller boy tap his enemy's shoulder. Earls turned to smirk at the stone-faced younger boy, before Niall reached back and launched a punch into the side of his tormentor's head, knocking him to the ground in one hit. Niall turned to Eoghan and calmly helped him up, and the two walked back inside to a standing ovation._

Eoghan sat up straight and noticed that the digimon were asleep, even V-mon X, their appointed night watchman. Darren, however, was missing. Eoghan stood up and stretched. He guessed that sunrise wasn't too far off, from a dim glow on the horizon. He began walking towards the edge of the clearing, leaving his friend muttering in his sleep.

Darren let out a breath through clenched teeth. He knew from the time they stopped that the digimon wouldn't have been able to stay awake all night. Frostmon and Cragmon had passed out soon after they stopped. V-mon X had been injured and exhausted even before they met him. Unable to sleep, he volunteered for the watch a few hours before sunrise. He gazed up at the stars from his perch atop a low branch. Niall's snores broke through the silence.

Darren rolled his eyes. Niall was… weird. No-one else Darren knew shared the aura of welcome that the other boy had. He went out of his way to befriend people, with a few exceptions. Darren smirked as he thought of Michael Earls, also known as "That Prick", clutching his face and sobbing after one hit from Niall. Although, to be fair, if it weren't for Earls, Niall and Darren might never have even met.

_Earls and his gormless followers strode up to nine-year-old Darren. One of the nameless goons lifted the boy by the scruff of his collar and casually cast him out of their way, not even breaking stride. The boy sat on the ground in silence. This was part of his life and wasn't going to change. Let them bully him. They'll pay for it._

_A hand stopped in front of his face. "Need a hand?" He looked up at the cocky grin in front of him. He waved away the hand and climbed to his feet. Niall's grin faltered for a split second before he glanced at Earls' crew. As Darren walked away, an arm swung itself around his shoulders. Darren pushed the other boy away. "Leave me alone." he hissed, walking past._

"_No way." grunted Niall, grabbing Darren by the shoulder and dragging him back. "Listen. I don't care if you hate me for whatever reason you have for being such a jerk, but you'd better listen to me. Those guys are morons. They're mean to everyone in our class. Don't let them hurt you. They can't treat you like that if you don't let them."_

_Darren stood still, surprised at the anger in Niall's voice. Niall, perfect student, genius, popular, was nothing like he'd expected. He'd thought of Niall as another face in the crowd, just one more person Darren had to endure._

_Yet here he was, angry with Darren for letting himself be bullied by Earls and the others. Angry with Darren for pushing everyone away. Darren gritted his teeth and held his hand out. "Okay, okay, fine. Truce?"_

_Niall's face split once more into a smile. "That's the spirit. Come on, there's got to be something better to do than sit around here."_

Darren smirked as he cast his mind back over the last few years. Niall insisted on dragging him to events with everyone else, where he, albeit grudgingly, eventually began to enjoy himself. If it weren't for Niall, he'd be… well, he wouldn't be as willing to accept people. He had to admit he was wrong. There were some good people. He just had to find them.

Darren looked down at Niall, the snores subsiding. The other boy was sweating profusely and muttering in his sleep. He knew what was happening. He'd found out a couple of years ago, after inviting Niall over to his house for the night.

"_I can't make it, Darren, sorry." insisted Niall. The boys were outside the school, walking towards the housing estate where Niall lived. "T-too much to do the day after." he laughed, half-heartedly, without any of his usual confidence._

"_You said two minutes ago you weren't doing anything this Saturday. If you don't want to come over, just say so. Don't try to fool me." muttered Darren, becoming increasingly annoyed. He began to change direction before Niall caught him by the arm._

"_Wait." he gasped. Darren was shocked, not by the action, but by the tone in his friend's voice. He was hyperventilating, his body shaking. "I… I have nightmares. I-I know that sounds stupid, but hear me out. I… wake up, screaming. I only remember a few parts of them, but when I wake up, the feeling I get, it's like I never want to sleep again." The boy was panting for air at this point, terror in his voice._

"_I'm lucky if I don't wake everyone else. If I'm somewhere I don't recognise straight away, I panic. I just start screaming until I can pull myself together…" the boy ended on a whisper. Darren nodded and they stood silent for a moment before Niall raised his head. "…Sorry. Let's get going. Maybe another time, yeah?" Darren just watched as Niall walked home._

Darren shook his head. Niall was the most carefree person he knew, insanely so. Whatever could scare him enough to have him screaming was something Darren didn't want to think about. He looked up as the other boy -Eoghan- stood up and began walking away. Darren rolled his eyes. Why the hell Eoghan decided to walk away from the camp -alone- was most likely a stupid idea he didn't need to hear. Why did Niall hang around this guy? Darren jumped down to the ground. "Better get him back before he hurts himself." Darren thought to himself.

Eoghan kept walking for a few minutes before he reached the edge of the forest. A field of flowers in full bloom faded away at the edge of a cliff. Eoghan sat on a log as the sun lit up the horizon with a flash of gold.

"So you left the camp for this?" came Darren's voice from behind him. "It's not like it's any different than back home." said the dark-haired boy as he walked up to Eoghan. His voice was sceptical as he looked down at Eoghan.

Eoghan rolled his eyes. Trust the dark, brooding jerk to put a damper on the beauty of the moment. Why would Niall want to hang around this guy? "That's exactly why." he muttered. "It's exactly the same as back home, which is more than can be said for the rest of this place."

"Huh." Darren looked thoughtful at the response. He hadn't expected a reason from Eoghan, let alone one like that. Maybe he'd underestimated Eoghan. "Nicely put."

The two boys sat in silence for a few moments. Darren regarded Eoghan suspiciously as the latter glanced back towards the camp.

"You think he'll be okay?" muttered Eoghan. Darren hesitated before answering. Thinking about their friend's nightmares was a sobering experience. He'd never seen the effect they had on Niall, but he suspected the sandy-haired boy had.

"I don't know… he's told you about these nightmares, then?"

Eoghan stood up, sighing. "I found out a different way."

_Eoghan jumped over the fence in front of Niall's house. Niall had missed a lot of schoolwork, and he'd volunteered to make the homework delivery. It was good to have an excuse to visit, even if Niall was sick. They hadn't spoken in days. He knocked on the front door, feeling the sound echo through the hall behind. With no response, he shoved his notes through the letterbox and turned to leave._

_A scream rang out from an open window. Eoghan froze, listening to the sheer terror in the voice. In Niall's voice. Throwing his bag to one side, he scrabbled for the key he knew to be under the flowerpot. Slamming it into the lock and running upstairs to his friend's room._

_Niall was sprawled on the bed, roaring in agony. Eoghan paused, totally unprepared for the situation. Stumbling forwards, he shook the other boy, hoping to wake him._

_Niall's eyes flew open, wide in terror. He grabbed Eoghan's arm in both hands, panting. "Don't…don't let him… he's… oh God…" babbled Niall. Eoghan stood still, terrified and bewildered. Niall's grip tightened painfully as his eyes showed a spark of recognition._

"_Eoghan… don't let them get hurt… don't let him find us… please." he coughed, before his eyes focused on his friend. Shock and fear were clearly visible on his face._

"_I-I'm s-sorry," he panted, choking back sobs. "Seriously, I didn't mean for that t-to… I'm sorry…" he whispered before sobbing silently into his hands._

_Eoghan nodded, still stunned. "… Do you want to talk about it?…" he muttered, feeling totally overwhelmed. "I'm… here… for you?" he finished lamely._

_Niall let out a short chuckle, a smile on his face despite the tears. "Thanks, man. I'd better remember to hold you to that." he whispered, before clearing his throat and turning to his friend._

"_Do me a favour, though. Don't tell people about this. I can't- I'm not ready for everyone to know yet. I'll let them know sometime." Eoghan nodded again, this time confidently. He turned to leave, pausing as he heard Niall ready himself to talk again. With no response, he descended the stairs, wishing for a way to help his friend._

"I still don't know how I can help, but I'll have to try. If I don't help him, I won't be able to forgive myself." finished Eoghan as they walked back to the camp, the sun at their backs. Darren bowed his head, not trusting himself to speak.

"…It's good that he can trust you." said Darren eventually, just as they reached their camp. Eoghan thrust his hand out to the other boy with a half-smile. "So can you."

They shook hands just as the digimon and Niall woke. "Hey, guys," yawned Niall. "Ready to go?"

Darren and Eoghan grinned and nodded their assent. "Excellent." smirked Niall, jumping to his feet. "Let's get this party started."

_And there you have it. Hope it's worth reading._


End file.
